Solid Waste Authority to look for minority contracting disparities

Mark Randall / Sun Sentinel

The Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority plans to hire a consultant to conduct a "disparity study" aimed at determining whether minority-owned businesses are unfairly missing out on authority contracting work.

The commission, which doubles as the authority’s governing board, agreed to have the agency hire a consultant to conduct a “disparity study” like the one planned for county government.

The studies of the county and authority were sought by local black leaders who have raised concerns that minority-owned firms aren’t getting a fair share of construction projects, consulting jobs and other contracts paid for by public money.

The studies could be the first step toward returning to the county’s prior practice of giving minority-owned and women-owned businesses a leg up in winning contracts.

The county’s study has been projected to cost as much as $1 million and the study of the authority’s operations could cost several hundred thousand dollars, officials said Wednesday.

It may take two separate studies because the county and authority “operate as two separate entities,” Commissioner Mary Lou Berger said.

Commissioner Steven Abrams cast the only vote against conducting the disparity study, saying he objects to the contracting policies that could follow, which he contends would result in “dividing up the county up into gender and races.”

The county hasn’t conducted a disparity study in 25 years and the last time it took about two years to produce.

“We should start now,” Commissioner Shelley Vana said.

The study could come too late for the Solid Waste Authority’s priciest construction project.

The authority is in the midst of building a new $600 million, waste-to-energy trash-burning plant that is projected to open in 2015.